An immigration pilot program being run in Denver takes a more humanitarian approach to the Department of Homeland Security's deportation process. If proven effective, it could have a profound impact on immigrants whose only offense is living in the United States.

The six-week program, announced Nov. 25, identifies illegal immigrants with no criminal record and who meet certain criteria as low priorities for deportation and allows their cases to be closed. The criteria include serving in the military, living in the United States for a long time and completing high school or college. Elderly immigrants and victims of domestic violence may also qualify. In theory, it allows immigration officials to focus on deporting those accused and convicted of serious crimes.

The pilot is a departure from the Department of Homeland Security's "Secure Communities" program, which attempts to deport illegal immigrants with criminal records by compelling local law enforcement agencies to share fingerprints and other records with the FBI, which passes them onto immigration officials. Critics have said Secure Communities unfairly deports immigrants with little more than parking tickets to their name, while those with more egregious criminal records are let go. A report conducted in October at the University of California-Berkeley found that only 8 percent of illegal immigrants detained under Secure Communities had an aggravated felony conviction. And 45 percent had no criminal history.

Opponents of the pilot program say it amounts to amnesty for illegal immigrants, who are committing a crime simply by being in the United States. The Secure Communities Program itself has been so controversial that several states have tried to opt out of it. But if the pilot program is successful, it could better prioritize the insurmountable backlog of immigration cases. Immigrants convicted of serious crimes would be deported sooner, while those who truly want a better life and to contribute to society would be allowed to stay, at least for a longer time.

Source: Huffington Post, "Secure Communities Companion Pilot Program To Run In Denver: Immigration Enforcement Advocates Skeptical of DHS Proposals," Ryan Grenoble, Dec. 8, 2011